Advanced Learning Plan (ALP) – Describes the strategies that are being used throughout the school year to meet the need of the Gifted and Talented (GT) students, who are identified by testing and teacher recommendation.

Auction – Spring fundraiser and community party generates the more than half of the funds the PTA uses to support the school’s annual needs. (See the Auction web page.)

Balarat – DPS outdoor education center near Lyons, Colorado, that we use for our 5th Grade team building field trip.

Common Core Standards – A nationwide set of educational standards for students from kindergarten through 12th grade in language arts and mathematics. They were designed to ensure that students graduating from high school are prepared to enter either college or the workforce. Colorado adopted the Common Core Standards in 2010.

CSC – Collaborative School Committee works with principal and staff to guide the curriculum and decide how the PTA funds are spent. (See the CSC web page.)

ESL or ELA – English as a Second Language (ELS) and/ or English Language Acquisition (ESL) refer to the district program that provides students with the English language skills – speaking, listening, reading and writing – that they need to participate fully in the school’s mainstream English instructional programs.

Enrichment – Optional after-school classes that are fee-based and organized by a locally owned company. Enrichment options vary throughout the year to include sports, music, cooking, art, Lego building, and more. (See the Enrichment web page.)

GT – Gifted and Talented program provides supplemental education as needed on site at Bill Roberts. (Also see the Gifted and Talented Education web page.)

Individualized Educational Program (IEP) – A written document developed by the school and parent for a child identified as disabled under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act that describes the child’s abilities and needs and prescribes educational placement and services.

Infinite Campus (IC) – An online family and student information system provided by Denver Public Schools. Messages include phone calls and emails that are automatically sent to the contact information provided during online registration at the start of each new school year.

Intervention (RTI – Response to Instruction/Intervention) – Describe the system of support our school uses for students who may be showing they need extra support academically and/or behaviorally. The foundation of the RTI process at Bill Roberts is high-quality instruction and universal screening of all children in our school. Visit the Intervention page for more specifics on this program.

Istation – Nationally normed measurement of student growth with computer-adaptive diagnostic and screening programs used by teachers in the elementary grades. More information is available from your teacher or at www.Istation.com.

Para or Para-professional – Teaching assistants that help in the classroom. All grade levels have paras for classroom support for some portion of the day depending on the class sizes and school budget. All ECE and Kindergarten classes have a dedicated para in each class. Most of our paras hold advanced degrees or teaching licenses.

PBIS – Positive Behavior Intervention and Support is the discipline approach used in our school to teach positive and appropriate behavior.

Platooning – Describes the practice in which students are assigned two teachers as a team, traditionally literacy (reading and writing) is taught by a dedicated literacy teacher and math, science and social studies are taught by a teacher who specializes in those areas. Bill Roberts platoons for 1st through 5th grade classrooms.

PLC – Professional Learning Community – teacher professional development in literacy and instruction that takes place for staff every Friday afternoon.

Project Based Learning – Purposefully integrated curriculum that uses group work, from research through completion and presentation skills that strengthen learning across several subject areas.

RTI(Response to Instruction/Intervention) – Describe the system of support our school uses for students who may be showing they need extra support academically and/or behaviorally. The foundation of the RTI process at Bill Roberts is high-quality instruction and universal screening of all children in our school.

Schema – What a child already knows or has done. They can then connect new information they learn to their existing “schema” or knowledge.